


X-Genes and Ohs

by agentsimmons



Series: Mutants and Monsters [6]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Baby Mutants, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Gen, Kid Charles Xavier, Kid Fic, Mutant Hate, Mutant Powers, Mutant Pride, Non-Linear Narrative, Parent Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark Friendship, Pre-Avengers (2012), Pre-Slash, Protective Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 14:07:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6082245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentsimmons/pseuds/agentsimmons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A conversation with Pepper leads to an "Oh." moment for Tony regarding Charles' possible gift. Of course, Pepper doesn't quite buy it at first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	X-Genes and Ohs

**Author's Note:**

> And we're back to Tony and Charles for a crucial moment. After this I'll begin uploading the multi-chapter Iron Man origin, which is a several year time jump. But don't fear for my fellow baby!Charles lovers. There will still be other small ficlets interspersed while I'm working on that predating it. Similarly, there will be some more Bruce and Raven. Gotta love non-linear narrative where I can go wherever I feel like in the timeline whenever I feel like it :P
> 
>  
> 
> **This one takes place approximately 6-7 months after _Not Like Him_.**

Tony looks down at the paperwork that Pepper places on his desk and rolls his eyes in her direction. She sits down in the seat across from him and crosses her arms expectantly. He looks at the paperwork again, recognizing it as the paperwork Obi had hassled with him about for about two weeks. Apparently the older man has given up and resorted to hassling Pepper to hassle him instead. Tony probably should have just signed it already, but he's just too busy with Charles these days and it's a miracle he's ever in the office like he is today. He's not only busy with Charles' terrible twos – how does such a sweet little boy manage to simultaneously be such a little menace with the mood strikes him? – but he's busy with all the observations he's begun to gather regarding his son's uncanny ability to just _know_ things.

So he ignores it and moves his eyes back to his computer screen. He was in the middle of reading through a message board on the topic of psychic abilities so the paperwork can wait. He hears Pepper's exasperated sigh.

"Obadiah says the General is getting impatient. He's threatening to cut the contract and go with Hammer."

Tony sighs in turn, but makes no effort to stop what he's doing. "General Ross isn't the only hard-assed military bigwig this company's dealt with. If he can't wait, he can leave. Stark Industries won't hurt without him."

"Tony, what is going on here?" Pepper asks and he spares a glance at her to see her face drawn down into a frown that seems to be more and more of a consistent resident on her face the longer she works for him. He thinks briefly that she probably deserves a promotion, something a little more worthy of her time and talents, but he'd probably be lost without those talents that make his life so much easier. "Please tell me this isn't about… about Charles," she says in ambiguous reference to the situation.

Tony regrets having shared his theory with her. "I'm serious, Pepper," he says firmly and reads another comment on the message board. "Charles has some kind of gift."

"You’ve come up with some crazy excuses in my time as your assistant, Tony, but this takes the cake. Since when do you believe in anything, _but_ science?” Her tone is dubious to say the least.

Tony is in the middle of reading a comment about a person who swears they can read thoughts too when her question strikes him. “Science,” he repeats with eyes unfocused as he searches through his extensive memory recall. Then he snaps his fingers. "Mutations,” he mumbles.

“Mutations?” Pepper asks in confusion.

Tony looks around the room. It's perhaps a little foolish since he knows they're alone, but the topic is about as touchy and prone to vehemence as homosexuality… actually, maybe more these days.

“The X-gene,” he whispers, leaning across his desk as he does.

“The X-gene?” Pepper furrows her brow for a moment before her eyes widen and she gasps slightly. “As in mutants?” She asks loudly.

“Shush,” Tony urges.

It's not that he cares if mutants are real or that his son may be one, but he doesn’t want to put a label on his son before he's even certain. He especially doesn’t want it to get around to people who would use that against him before Tony is able to protect him and Charles is old enough to handle it, should it be true. He quickly searches for some of the research and conspiracy sites regarding mutants, knowing he'll find just as many antimutant results as well from the people who not only believe in their existence, but believe them to be a threat against humanity.

“Tony, do you hear yourself?” Pepper asks skeptically after a moment. “The Genome project has yet to identify the existence of the supposed X-gene. It’s a crackpot myth.”

“Not to, you know, bite the hand that feeds us, but the government itself is practically a crackpot myth. As we know it anyways,” he tacks on with a shrug.

He makes a few clicks with his mouse and pulls up a livecam feed of his mansion on the computer monitor; it's a newly implemented extension of JARVIS' surveillance. It’s a little too fuzzy for his tastes, but it lets him know where Charles is and how he is on a whim. At the moment, he has a whim to see what his son is up to. He's playing with a deluxe kitchen set he'd gotten recently since it was safer than Charles always getting into the pots and pans cabinet like the two year old imp he was on occasion. Tony chuckles to himself because hopefully this will help Charles end up with better cooking skills than he has – since his own dad would never have allowed such a domestic play set if he'd wanted it.

“So you’re suggesting the government is lying about the existence of the gene,” Pepper finally speaks again. “But why? Why would they?”

“Do they ever need a good reason to lie?” Tony raises an eyebrow at her. “If asked they would probably say it’s to maintain public safety.”

“Okay, but you’re a scientist,” she points out and he furrows his brow a little. “You didn’t even seem to consider the possibility until I mentioned science. So you didn’t believe in its existence either, did you?” She looks at him long and hard until he confesses.

“Well, no,” he replies with a sigh. “But being a scientist has nothing to do with it," he attempts to explain. "Organics, biochemistry, that’s not really my expertise off hand." He looks back at the computer screen where Charles is still playing like any other normal, human child would – because regardless of any mutation that's still what he is. "I never had any reason to go looking into it for myself.”

“Oh no,” Pepper says, almost too dramatically. “No, Tony. You’ve got that look.”

"I'm fairly certain I'm not making bedroom eyes right now, Pep," he responds obnoxiously. "Probably just wishful thinking on your part," he then teases her.

"Not _that_ look," she says snippily. "That look you get when you're about to become obsessed with something. That look you get when you're about to start a project you actually care about."

He doesn't miss the implication and looks down at the paperwork he's supposed to sign with transparent guilt. He sighs and reaches for it. He reads over about two paragraphs outlining the "utmost importance" of specially designed weapons because it's a "matter of national security" regarding a "formidable monster" and then shucks it down again. He might bring himself to care about the General's bizarre request later, but for now his mind is already too far gone with the obsession Pepper had spoken of.

Suddenly he gets an idea. "Come on, Pep," he says, standing up. "Let's go back to my place."

"Tony, no," she rebukes him before he can finish.

"What? Oh. No, not like that," he says with a small scowl at her conclusion. How long before he can live that particular reputation down? "Jeez Louise, you and your wishful thinking." She scowls back at him. "I was going to say let me try to convince you about Charles."

She looks at him in confusion as he quickly buzzes Happy to let him know. "I'm with you and Charles all the time. Don't you think I would have noticed by now?"

Tony shakes his head. "No. Because you weren't paying attention. Just like I wasn't."

Pepper slumps her shoulders slightly and gives him a small, disbelieving look before sighing. "Alright, let's go." She then grabs the paperwork. "But you'll sign these on the way over."

Tony, of course, relents to the concession and signs the paperwork allowing the commission of the Hulkbusters project, though not without some very confused mumbling throughout. "What the hell is a Hulk and why are we busting it?" "Wait, is he asking for weapons to take down Bigfoot?" "I'm done trying to understand military Generals. I barely understand Colonels." Pepper just laughs, obviously relieved that she'll have signed paperwork to take back to Obi, and awkwardly meets Happy's gaze in the rearview mirror every now and then.

"Alright, so how are you going to convince me?" Pepper asks once they arrive at the mansion.

"Okay, unbeliever," Tony clips. "Let's start with the fact that it doesn't matter how quiet I am or what Charles is doing, he always knows I'm near. _Always_."

"Fairly certain a familial psychic bond is normal, Tony," Pepper says.

"Oh yeah," Happy agrees and Tony turns his head to look at him quickly, realizing he'd not taken into consideration his presence. "I was watching this special on The Learning Channel about how family members just seem to know things regarding each other, like when they're in danger or stuff."

Tony sighs. "Just watch."

He walks up to the door and stands there for several moments without entering the mansion. He feels a small throbbing in his temple, something else he's noticed happens on occasion and has been monitoring. After another moment he looks from one side to his other, at both Pepper and Happy, and then opens the door.

As soon as they step into the mansion they're greeted with the sight of Charles waiting for them. His eyes are wide and he smiles before stomping up and down a little in excitement. "See! Daddy _is_ home," he then says in a rather admonishing tone once he's stopped stomping. It's the tone Charles has been using more and more the past six months because he tends to think _he's_ right and likes to flaunt it.

Then again, Tony doesn't have the excuse of being two and a half when he gives a "See!" smirk of his own in Pepper's direction. She has the decency to look a little more open to his theory than before.

"Oh, Mr. Stark," the nanny, a woman by the name of Mrs. Arbogast, says in surprise as she comes over. "I told Charles you wouldn't be home until four when he said you were home. That is what you told me this morning, right?"

Tony smiles. "Yes, but there was a small change in schedule and I'm home now. But I'll still pay you for the full day," he assures her as a means of dismissing her.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark," she responds and moves to get her things. "Charles was mostly an angel today," she supplies as she does. " _Mostly_ ," she repeats, with emphasis and Tony laughs just a little before wishing her a good afternoon and waiting for her to leave, Happy going as well to transport her.

"So?" Tony asks Pepper once they're alone with Charles, who has run over to one of the many play areas that have taken over the spacious home.

"Familial bond, Tony," she states unwaveringly and he narrows his eyes at her.

Before Tony can say anything else there's a loud noise behind him and he turns to see Charles has dumped his large box of art supplies on the coffee table. Charles looks up at Tony with a matter-of-fact expression and says just as resolutely, "Art."

Tony smiles and nods at him. "I'm going to have enough drawings to fill a room with," Tony then says to Pepper, turning to talk to her again.

"Daddy!" Charles shouts at him and Tony raises his brow slowly, turning back again to look at Charles. The little boy has a petulant scowl on his face as if he disapproves of something. " _Art_ ," he says, the scowl evident in his tone.

Tony doesn't know whether to sigh or laugh or reprimand as he realizes what Charles wants. "I guess it's art time," he says with a shrug, giving in. He walks around to sit on the floor in front of the table.

Pepper follows, only she sits on the couch and doesn't join in. It's just as well since Charles is also in the selfish stage, especially when it comes to dad's attention. It's lucky Charles hasn't thrown a fit for her to leave altogether. That behavior Tony _would_ reprimand.

"Okay, what should I draw?" Tony asks thoughtfully as he takes a piece of construction paper into hand.

"How about a unicorn," Pepper suggests. "Or maybe a fairy or a troll or a—"

"You know if mutants exist, what you're saying is very offensive," Tony points out and reaches for a gray pastel.

"Mutant turtles?" Charles chimes in excitedly, only registering the word mutant apparently and relating it to one of his favorite cartoons, currently in reruns not that the little boy would ever know it. He's looking at Tony with eager blue eyes.

"Yeah, mutant turtles exist," he says with a broad smile and looks at Pepper. She rolls her eyes. Tony looks back at Charles as the boy reaches for a green crayon. "You going to draw a mutant ninja turtle there, Charlie?" He guesses.

"Yeah!" Charles exclaims and begins scribbling on his paper something that in his mind must resemble the iconic characters.

Tony focuses on sketching out a robot design out of habit. "I know it's hard to believe, Pep, but I have a very long list of anomalies that suggest he has some kind of psychic power. Not only that, I think it correlates with his migraines."

Pepper sighs in defeat. He glances at her in time to see her eyes suddenly grow curious. "Wait, when you first told me about your theory you said you thought Charles read your mind. I didn't know that had anything to do with being psychic."

Tony stills the movement of his pastel and bites the inside of his cheek. She's not inherently wrong. "It's apparently not impossible according to some claiming to be psychic," he offers uncertainly, remembering the forum he'd been reading back at the office. He then continues with his drawing. "But, supposing it is an X-gene manifestation," he begins to hypothesize, his hand beginning to sketch in tandem with the thoughts racing around in his mind, "then it's possible we're not looking at just any psychic ability. Maybe…" He considers and glances at Charles. "Maybe it's telepathy."

"Telepathy?" Pepper repeats in a tone that sounds somehow even incredulous than before.

"Maybe he isn't predicting I'm coming so much as, well, maybe he's sensing me with his mind," Tony suggests.

"That's a very scary thought," Pepper says absently and Tony nearly snaps his pastel in half as it comes to a sharp halt against the paper.

He looks at her with sudden, sharp distrust and she falters back, clearly surprised by his backlash. "I think you should leave," he says hotly.

"Tony, I—I…" She stutters and looks back and forth between him and Charles, who Tony glances over to see looking at her with his small face scrunched up. "I only meant…" She bites her bottom lip and shakes her head. "Fine," she says in a defeated tone and stands to leave.

Tony feels a pang of guilt beneath his indignation that divides him down the middle. He doesn't mean to be cruel, but he had trusted her and the last thing he wants is someone he trusts being afraid of his son, telepath or not. The thought makes his blood boil and everything inside him screams protect.

Suddenly Charles is up to his feet and bounding after Pepper with his picture in hand. "Aunt Pep! Aunt Pep!" Which is what he calls her these days and Tony honestly has no idea how that started or where he came up from it – maybe a movie or television show or maybe Pepper had referred to her as his surrogate aunt at some point.

Pepper stops and turns to look down at Charles and the sad, fond smile she does so with makes Tony feel all the guiltier. Charles holds out the artwork for her. She takes it in a tentative fashion.

"For me?" She looks at him with a brighter smile than what she'd been wearing before.

Charles nods and blushes adorably before smiling wide, every bit the image of a pint sized charmer. _The little scamp_ , Tony thinks with an amused shake of his head, forgetting his previous feelings of anger.

Pepper immediately crouches down to be closer to eye level with him. "Thank you, Charles," she says warmly and her eyes are glossy with a few tears as if she's grateful to still have his trust.

"Don't be sad," Charles says, the angelic side of him shining through at the moment. He then says, though not in perfect coherence or pronunciation, something he's undoubtedly heard a million times from the morals of children's programming: "I frogif you." And he gives her an awkward hug, awkward because of Pepper's crouched position, as Pepper takes a sharp intake of breath and looks over at Tony with wide eyes that cause Tony's back to straighten.

Then Charles is bounding back over to him, Pepper standing upright behind him with an expression Tony can't quite read. As for Charles, his expression is downright expectant. He's practically saying, "Well?"

When Tony doesn't say anything Charles scowls as if disappointed and admonishes, " _Daddy_."

"Daddy, what?" Tony prods him to use his words and not just demand him to do things, and not only because he's just as petulant and dislikes being bossed around by a two and a half year old.

"Aunt Pep—" He gulps on a breath to fill up his longs, not having done so properly before starting. He starts over, "Aunt Pep says she's sorry so, so, you haf to frogif her."

Tony furrows his brow. "Aunt Pep didn't—"

"I thought it," Pepper rushes out in a voice just above a whisper.

Tony's eyes widen and he looks at her. "You…" He looks at Charles and smiles, perhaps a little madly. "I forgive her," he then placates his son and Charles smiles approvingly before grabbing Tony's picture to inspect.

Tony moves to sit on the couch and he looks up at Pepper to see her watching Charles in clear disbelief. Charles has moved back around to the other side of the table and has begun scribbling with a gray crayon on a new piece of paper, stopping every now and then to study Tony's drawing as if making a serious attempt at imitation.

"I thought it, Tony. I wanted to say I was sorry, but I didn't want to upset you more." She pauses and glances back at him. "And I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"Well," Tony shrugs, "we both know it's not the first time. Probably won't be the last." He hesitates and looks down. "You can't tell anybody," he then says. "I'm trusting you, Pepper. I know he's special, but—"

"Tony, I would never betray either of you," Pepper replies firmly. "It's a little overwhelming admittedly, but he's just a little boy and he can't help it." She hesitates this time. "What are you going to do?"

Tony blinks once at the question. But he doesn't even have to think twice before conviction washes over him. "Study up on the X-Gene. Nurture whatever this is. And protect him. I'll be damned if I let anyone make him think there's something wrong with him."

Pepper just nods.

"Daddy, look!" Charles squeals excitedly, innocently. Tony has a strong suspicion he doesn't even consciously know what he's been doing or the confusion he's causing. Like Pepper said, he's just a little boy after all.

Tony looks over to see Charles holding up his new drawing, a gray blob that makes Tony smile. "You drew a robot," he says encouragingly.

"Yeah!" Charles lights up all the more and turns the picture back around to look at it proudly. "I draw a robot!"

Tony doesn't know what the future holds for either of them. He doesn't even know yet for sure if Charles has an inherent power caused by the X-Gene. He only knows that he could never in a million years love him any less because of it. He only knows he'll do whatever he can to support him in all the ways he can, in all the ways he's already vowed to. Mutant or not, Charles is his son and nothing can change that.

**Author's Note:**

> Protective Tony is protective :) Also fun facts for non-comic readers, Mrs. Arbogast is the name of the badass woman who was Tony's personal assistant for a while before becoming his partner. So I couldn't resist making her Charles' nanny (in this fic and in another cough cough). I love Bambi a lot so it's a miracle she hasn't showed up way more in my fics haha.


End file.
